Monthly
Membership Meeting held by Chatham Business Association, Small Business
Development Inc. are held to inform current members and prospective members
about issues and activities going on in Chatham and the City of Chicago
regarding small business opportunities. You do not need to be a member to
attend. Breakfast is provided. Admission is $10 for Non-Members.

By doubling down on his vile slur on President Obama’s love for his country,
ex New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani created the media frenzy that he craved. He
also set up an easy test of decency for Republican presidential contenders: who
has the sense to disavow Giuliani’s poison? Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio
passed the admittedly low bar; Governors Scott Walker and Bobby Jindal failed
ignominiously: Governor Rick Perry pretzeled his way through it. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/republican-presidential-hopefuls-rudy-giulianis-obama-comments/
If Republicans wonder why 95% of African Americans and 70% of Latinos will
likely end up voting for Democrats in 2016, they should look in the mirror.
Virtually every African American will see this attack on President Obama as
racist, something that would not be occur were Obama white. Silence in the face
of the attack will be seen as proof that the Republican race-based politics of
division remains in force. In his decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act
Shelby v. Holder, Justice Roberts wrote that “this country has changed.”
Giuliani’s insult ratifies the wisdom of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s ringing
dissent, that while progress has been made, the Congress surely was right in
deciding we still have far to go.
Giuliani’s rant echoes the new hysteria that Republicans are trying to
stoke: that Obama is “withdrawing” from the world, and thereby weakening
America. A parade of horrors – Russia in Ukraine, ISIS in Syria and Iraq,
negotiations over nukes with Iran, terrorist violence in Paris – is summoned up
and blamed on the president.
Recently, Obama made the simple and common sense observation that we are not
at war with Islam, but with terrorist extremists who want to hijack the religion
for their own ends. His statement was similar to that repeated frequently by
George W. Bush when he was president. Any future president from either party
will make similar statements – both to reflect reality and to keep the
fear-mongers from fanning hatred here at home. Yet the president’s comments
sparked hysterical comments from across the right-wing noise machine as if
common sense were somehow heresy.
This clamor is feeding a mindless war fever. Do we want to have an armed
confrontation with Russia over Ukraine? Not really, the macho hawks basically
want to fight to the last Ukrainian. Do we want to put troops back into Iraq?
Not really, although as President Obama has escalated the US response to ISIS,
the armchair hawks have moved to more muscular positions, now even mumbling
about “boots on the ground.” We are fighting wars in Afghanistan, providing
troops and arms and bombs against ISIS, running drone attacks in nearly a dozen
countries, dispatching special forces to 120 countries. And somehow this is
scorned as withdrawal from the world.
Missing in the hysteria and the vile attacks on patriotism is a sensible
policy debate – and a sensible reckoning of how we got to where we are. The
reality is that excessive belief in military force has done more than anything
to cause this mess. The catastrophic invasion of Iraq is the worst foreign
policy debacle since Vietnam. The decision not simply to go after Bin Laden and
al Qaeda, but to wage a counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan and “rebuild” that
nation has led to the longest war in our history that shows no sign of ending.
The “humanitarian intervention” in Libya has left chaos and violence in its
wake. The US invasion of Iraq turned the country over to Shiite rule,
ironically empowering Iran. ISIS comes out of the Sunni reaction to that
reality. Meanwhile we’ve only begun to pay the $3 trillion tab for Bush’s Iraq
War, even as our own roads, rail, sewage and water systems grow ever more
dangerous for lack of investment.
Those who mindlessly call the president weak, impugn his patriotism, and
accuse him of withdrawing from the world ought to be called to account. Enough
with the rhetoric, the posturing, and the poison. What is the policy that they
want? Let us hear them explain how they will drive a confrontation with Russia
in Ukraine, while fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and
elsewhere.
The only way Americans will accept this nonsense is if they are scared out of
their wits. Sadly, that seems to be the intent of the fear mongers, who need to
be challenged before they frighten us into yet another costly debacle.

CELEBRATE
JEAN BAPTISTE POINTE DUSABLE at the DuSable Museum of African American
History! Bring the family for Native American drumming, show your
skills in archery, taste Native American cuisine, and learn more about the
"Father of Chicago" DATE: Sunday, March 1, 2015
TIME: 1pm-4pm COST: Admission: FREE.

Would
you like to renew your membership? Give memberships as a gift? You can continue
to take advantage of all the DuSable Museum of African American History has to
offer by helping to grow our membership family Today! Membership to the Museum
helps to keep the legacy of education and enlightenment flourishing for future
generations. Help to grow our membership family!

Our mission is to collect, preserve and display artifacts and objects that
promote understanding and inspire appreciation of the achievements,
contributions, and experiences of African Americans through exhibits, programs,
and activities that illustrate African American history, culture and art. Invest
in history by becoming a member of The DuSable Museum TODAY. Learn more by
calling (773) 947-0600 ext 238, or join online at www.dusablemuseum.org. Stop by
the DuSable Museum Gift Shop and make the purchase of a lifetime. Help our list
grow; pass this on to a friend! Was this message forwarded to you? Visit
www.dusablemuseum.org to subscribe and get history delivered directly to
you!

There
is still space available for the two attached March “Free” Senior Enrichment
Seminars:

Thursday, March 5, 2015 – (11:30
am – 1:00 pm)

Topic:“Caring for Grandchildren: Guardianship and Visitation

Location:
Courtroom 2005 - 20th Floor

Thursday, March 19, 2015 –
(11:30 am – 1:30 pm)

Topic:
“Financial Literacy“

Location:
Room CL-115 – Concourse Level

Call the Elder Justice Center at (312)
603-9233 to reserve your seat.

Please
mark your calendar for the above seminar dates.I would also
appreciate it if you would begin sharing information on the above seminars with
your friends, family and colleagues to ensure that this important information is
made available to all who may be interested in learning more about the above
topics.

Paid for by Summers for Chicago. A copy of our report filed with
the State Board of Elections is (or will be) available on the Board's official
Website,http://Elections.Il.Gov, or for purchase from the State Board of
Elections, Springfield, Illinois.

The Peoples Gas pipe replacement program could be the biggest
train wreck of 2015.

Projected costs have reportedly doubled—to $4.6
billion—in five years. That could cause our gas rates to double over the next
decade.

State regulators could decide tomorrow whether to make a recent
audit of the program public. As an out-of-state company (Wisconsin Energy) tries
to buy Peoples Gas, those audit findings could help consumer advocates force the
companies to fix this mess as a condition of the purchase.

Chatham Business Association has been chosen and trained
as an Affiliate Micro-lender by the City of Chicago Micro-lending Institute and
will now be able to offer our business community Micro-loans of up
to $25,000.00. If you are a business owner who may have been
turned down by a bank, you should come and learn more about the micro lending
initiative. This is a bank supported BUT NOT A BANK RUN INITIATIVE. Quick Application
process and turn-a-around time!

CHATHAM BUSINESS
ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP ONLY. Not a member? Click Here